SEAdvanced Placement European History: Introduction to the Renaissance

Ah, yes… The Renaissance.

The Renaissance was an intellectual and artistic “rebirth” that began in the city-state of Florence.

Speaking of city-states, Italy was composed of a bunch of those. Venice, Genoa, and Milan were other greatly powerful and economically thriving city-states during the Renaissance. At this time, there was no sense of collective Italian identity – instead, these independent city-states would constantly vie for power.

Italy was a prime location for the renaissance to begin for three main reasons:

1. Political/military – Italian city-states were constantly striving for a balance of power. Masked as republics, there wasn’t much political stability at this time in these states.

Here’s some terms you should know about government during the time:
• Signori - despots, one man ruler
• Oligarchies - despots, one man rulers
• Popolo - Italian underclass; left heavily taxed and disenfranchised, the popolo used armed force and violence to take over city governments

DEFINITELY NOT...

2. Intellectual/religious – a reemergence of the classics and a decline in religious focus calls for the spark of an intellectual and artistic movement. The invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg also served as an important part of the education movement; as books were printed more quickly, knowledge was more accessible.

3. Social/economic – Italian society was thriving. The city-states were economically stable, and trade was huge. This is why port cities especially saw the most of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance was based upon three major ideals that changed man’s way of thinking. I’ll make it easy for you.

INDIVIDUALISM – I am important. My life is mine alone, and I should enjoy it and focus on bettering myself. My liberties, rights, and actions are mine alone, and they are important.

SECULARISM –There may not be an afterlife, so why am I sitting here suffering worrying about what God thinks of me? We should not be ruled by our religion. Sure, we’ll still be Christians, and worship our god, but we also have to focus on things important to man and realize that within our lives there is so much more to do than pray for redemption and await the afterlife.

HUMANISM – Let’s write about, learn about, and study topics that aren’t just religious but also secular and put a focus on humans and the world we live in. Let’s turn away from medieval scholasticism and bring back interest in ancient Greek and Roman thought. We can open up schools and libraries and create art and all sorts of things to better the world and ourselves. Look at all we can learn!

These three ways of thinking led to great developments in science, art, philosophy, literature, astronomy, etc.

They were, in part, caused by the crises that preceded them. The collapse of the Medieval lifestyle incited a focus on the individual and accordingly a life not completely dedicated to religion. Furthermore, the classics began to reemerge at this era, and people quickly began to abandon medieval philosophy and recognize the classics as right.

People also became obsessed with the idea of a perfect man – he would be physically ideal, and an intelligent master of the arts and sciences. Today, we look back on these men who dabbled in science, philosophy, art, math, etc., and call them “Renaissance Men.”

Leonardo Da Vinci would be a fine example of a Renaissance Man.